Travel report: Cycle tour from Merano to Lake Garda

Jutta and Hans-Werner experienced an unforgettable cycle tour through the imposing and magnificent mountains of South Tyrol and Trentino. This cycle tour from Merano to Lake Garda to Riva was for them what a "Grand Slam tournament" is for tennis players - an outstanding route that must be counted among the cycling classics such as Altmühltal or Passau-Vienna.

Admittedly, the individual sections of the tour were not the most challenging for a cyclist, especially as we were on our e-bikes and the route was almost constantly slightly downhill. But that wasn't what was important here. It was all about pure enjoyment, joie de vivre, and marveling at the impressive natural surroundings.

And the cycle paths: superior!
In many sections, there are 3 m wide and smoothly paved paths specially designed for cyclists, often away from the roads and within sight of the Adige River, which became our (almost) constant companion.
And these cycle paths are used! Cycling is a real national sport in Italy - in contrast, cycling is still clearly in its infancy in Germany. The big advantage: everyone is attuned to cyclists and their specific needs and used to "pedalos". One of the consequences of this is that cycling is allowed everywhere, even in city centers and pedestrian zones.

Combined with the typically South Tyrolean, affirmative attitude to life, including the idyllic little towns that are worth seeing and have great cuisine, the landscape is made for cyclists. And if the route of the tour also includes the great moments when you devoutly take in the breathtaking scenery - as happened at Lake Caldaro as at Lake Garda, when we rode from a higher altitude towards the waters in front of and below us - it's hard to beat that.

The accommodation was in quite good and colorful hotels, often in very central locations, so that you could even leave your bike behind. The organization of the luggage transport was reliable and the route was good and easy - we had also received the GPX files from Radweg-Reisen for our navigation device. So it was simply a case of relaxed traveling! All in all, it was a totally successful vacation - even the extra day we booked in advance at Lake Garda turned out to be a stroke of luck.

We didn't even mind the sometimes difficult weather conditions....